Over the last year, flying has become a pretty big headache, with oil prices driving up airfares and airlines getting more stingy (with food, baggage allowances). But there seems to be hope on the horizon: A New York Times article this week reveals that airlines are actually adding perks to their frequent-flier programs and making it easier to redeem miles. And according to a study by Bing, Thanksgiving airfares have dropped 22 percent, and Christmas and New Year's airfares are down 18 percent from 2008. Check Bing's website for tips on getting the best deals--it suggests, for example, waiting to book flights until early October, when even more significant price drops are predicted.

Photo from jetwithkids.com

Here's a way to cut down on the arsenal of toys and DVDs many of us bring to keep kids entertained on a plane: The always-ingenious mom behind the blog Delicious Baby has a great post on Freebies4Moms about ways to turn the free stuff you encounter when you travel into kids' toys. Our favorite idea: "barf-bag puppets."

Our time was running out. After we got married five years ago, Jamie, my husband, and I couldn't quite justify the expense of a honeymoon, so we simply shelved it as a "someday" thing. And then I got pregnant, and we realized it was now or never for that deferred dream trip. Only the economy was tanking and the Dow was cellar dwelling, and in some ways, we could justify the trip even less than we could have in 2005.

Which is where Tulum, Mexico, comes in. We could fly to Cancun using our JetBlue miles (two free round trips!), and we could stay on the beach at Zamas for $150 a night, and we knew we could eat cheaply (I wouldn't be drinking) because we were heart-set on devouring apertivos and tacos from the main drag in town. And when people talk about the exchange rate with Mexico--especially Tulum--they are wrong to be talking in terms of dollars to pesos. They should be talking about the pace and feel of a U.S. day to a Tulum day: The place is so low-key, so luxuriously rustic (there's an ocean breeze instead of A/C, and the peninsula runs on windpower and doesn't usually have electricity after 10 p.m.), that four days there feels like a full week's vacation.

We visited two ruins, swam in three cenotes, ate the most delicious tamales and carnitas and huaraches (sin vergules cruda, for me, in a nod to my pregnancy), and every day spent some time reading on the somewhat rocky beach at Zamas before heading up the road to the public beach, with its perfect blue water and excellent waves for body surfing. We no longer felt like our time was running out.

NPR is doing a very comprehensive, very smart (c'mon, it's NPR) series on cheap travel across the U.S. Though it's got the ubiquitous "in this economy..." news hook, the spirit is celebratory, with stories on the joys of amusement parks, drive-in movies, minor-league baseball games, and inner-tubing. Readers can also suggest the best under-$100 trips in their area, which get plugged into an interactive map.